Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Alcoa (NYSE:AA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $75.75 and last traded at $75.8790, with a volume of 1428867 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alcoa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $54.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alcoa from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alcoa currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.60.

Alcoa Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.19 and its 200-day moving average is $58.35. The company has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.51.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.20). Alcoa had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Alcoa will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Alcoa’s payout ratio is presently 10.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP increased its stake in Alcoa by 12,233.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 40,082,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,318,312,000 after purchasing an additional 39,757,462 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Alcoa by 211.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,254,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,338,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247,559 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at $210,874,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at $173,412,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alcoa by 153.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,134,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation is a global industry leader in the production and management of aluminum, offering an integrated value chain that spans bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and the fabrication of value-added products. The company’s operations are organized into segments that include raw material extraction, chemical processing and the manufacture of metal mill products and engineered solutions.

Alcoa’s product portfolio serves diverse end markets such as aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction, electrical and industrial applications.